10:00am
by SayonaraChara
Summary: Rachel is new to Echo Village and she doesn't really know what she's doing. Suddenly, she finds herself the owner of a new cow. But if raising a child takes a village, raising a cow is going to take at least the compliance of the stubborn boy who gave it to her. And keeping her sanity in check in this small village is going to take a whole hell of a lot of effort.
1. Chapter 1

"So, I'll be heading back. Bessie is counting on you, so make sure you take proper care of her."

"This is so kind of you! Tha-" the boy turned and started walking toward the exit of my farm, "-nk you so much…" And there I sat, watching him walk away, cow lead rope wrapped around my hand. He said his name is Neil. He told me about his shop and how he sells animals and animal care products, gave me a cow and a few tools, and left. And that was it. It was so… Cold. _Was there a reason he was acting so cold? _I wonder to myself. _Was there a reason why he was trying to seem as unfriendly as possi—_

"Moooo!" Bessie pleaded. I suddenly realized I had been absentmindedly standing there, staring off into the distance. And I now have a cow. A living, breathing cow that I must take care of.

"Shit," I muttered, grabbing my rucksack full of tools. I slung it over my shoulder and led Bessie over to the empty barn that had been here since I moved in.

It had been around a week since I first moved to Echo Farm. I needed a change of pace. The city was dull, dank, and lifeless. So my dad suggested I move out to Echo and take up things on the family land. _Like father like daughter_, he had said. It was a wreck when I got here, but after a few days things tidied up pretty well. Yet Echo isn't exactly the change of pace I had in mind. When I first arrived in Echo there were three residents—not including myself. Three. And who did this fresh-faced 18-year-old have to befriend? No one. Of course Dunhill, Emma, and Hana are wonderful people. But they're my _parents'_ friends. Dunhill was best friends with my parents once upon a time, and I'm sure at least my dad knows Emma and Hana from his time in Echo. But either way, they're just… Harder to relate to. So I've preoccupied myself with turnip farming, foraging, and small talk. What a life, right?

But then here comes this cow—from out of nowhere. I just kind of stood there, confused, until I heard footsteps to my left and Neil appeared. And now Echo has a new resident. Err, not new. New to me, yes, not new to the town. But it's not the fact that there's a new-to-me resident that has me thinking, it's who the resident is. There's something about Neil, and I don't know what it is.

"His brown eyes seemed warm," I noted to Bessie as I released her from her guide. I set down my rucksack and begin to brush her. But in my mind, I'm studying Neil. Along with his brown eyes, Neil has longish, choppy, blond hair and a sharp jaw. _But his facial features were soft aside from his stern glance,_ I noted to myself. He's probably around 6' tall, reasonably taller than my 5'7". And he's tan and muscular, which I assume is from working with his animals all day long. "Get ahold of yourself, he's kind of an asshole," I muttered under my breath. But it's hard not to think of him. He's so… Young. Compared to the other residents… He has to be in his early twenties. _Close to my age_, I think.

Bessie mooed again, snapping me back into reality. I realized that I had been brushing her in the same place over and over again for the entire time I had been standing there. I quickly brushed the rest of her back and put my brush away. Bessie mooed impatiently.

"What in the world are you moo-" _shit_. Bessie lowers her face into her feeding bin and snorts.

I sigh, tangling my fingers in the hair at the nape of my neck. "Fodder. I don't have any goddamn fodder." I glance down at my watch, _9:48am_. Neil said his shop opens at 10:00am, but I don't know if he's open today since he just got back.

"Well, if push comes to shove, I can just buy some grass seed from Hanna, plant that in your pasture, and pray to Goddess I'm able to buy fodder tomorrow," I say, rubbing her ear. I pick my rucksack up and begin walking to town. _Dunhill did say that Neil was only out of town dealing with a client, _I muse, _so I suppose he doesn't really have to prepare anything. But then, I've never run a shop, so I don't really know what it takes. But I've never farmed, either. At least in the city I knew what to expect. What in the hell am I doing here…?_ I look up and see Dunhill standing in the middle of the path.

"So how's the cow, Rachel?" Dunhill asked, hobbling his way over to me.

"Hungry and fodderless," I admit. "I think I'm going to go buy some grass seed from Hanna to plant in the empty pasture in front of the barn."

"Wonderful! I have faith you'll accomplish great things, Rachel!" Dunhill pats my back and continues down the path, toward my farm.

"Yes I, Rachel, the great turnip and dairy farmer, am here to save the world with my superb farming skills," I mutter to myself. I reach Hanna's General Store and look at my watch, _9:57am_. I lean against the doorframe, facing west. I glance at the house next door, where Neil resides. I chuckle. _Superb farmer. Hah. Let's see how I can achieve that in a profession I know next to nothing about with only some of my parents' friends and a decidedly unfriendly boy I can probably only think of befriending as consolation in this new life._ A loud bell rings, and I look down at my watch again, _10:00am_.


	2. Chapter 2

_10:00am. Why is there a bell ringing?_ I ask myself. Hana comes to the shop door and flips the sign to read _OPEN_. She smiles at me through the window. _She doesn't seem surprised by the bell-ringing,_ I note. _What could it mean?_ I reach for the doorknob.

"NEIL'S ANIMALS IS NOW OPEN!" a gruff voice announces over a loudspeaker. "My animals have a quality guarantee. Don't quibble, just buy!" I scoff. _Why do I feel like this is typical for him?_ I walk into Hana's shop.

"'Don't quibble, just buy.' That guy… What do you know about Neil, Hana?" I hoist myself up onto the counter next to some seed pouches. Each little pouch is tied up and labeled by Hana herself, reminding me a lot of jarred goods your grandma would bring over. Hana walks over to a shelf and begins straightening items.

"Neil is a strange boy. He hasn't lived here long; he just moved next door not too long before you showed up." She knocks down a sack of flour and I go to grab the broom and dust pan from behind the counter as she picks the sack up and places it back on the shelf. I walk over to where she stands and begin sweeping up the flour that puffed out of the sack when it fell.

"Really? Dunhill told me he had just been out of town helping a client, but I didn't realize he was also a new resident," I remark. "I guess there's something we have in common. But how is he strange, Hana?"

Hana finishes straightening her products and walks back over the counter, pulling a container filled with craft supplies and seeds from under the counter. She begins setting seeds in the middle of the fabric and tying them into little pouches. "No one really knows anything about Neil. One day he walked into town and he came into my store. He purchased a few bottles of water and asked if there was any property for sale. At the time, there was only Dunhill, Emma, and myself in town, with my husband out of town. I noted the two abandoned houses: the one next door and the one up by Dunhill's house. He asked who could show him the properties and I told him where he could find Dunhill. He left without thanks and, within the next few days, he began to move in next door. I haven't talked to the boy aside from when he comes into the store to make purchases—during which there is no small talk. None of us really know anything about him aside from the fact that he's an animal dealer." She begins pinning labels to the little pouches. _Grass Seed_, the labels read. I look down at my watch, _11:50_.

"Oh man, it's almost noon!" I exclaim. "Can I grab some of these grass seeds, Hana? That's actually why I came in. Neil gave me a cow, and I kind of have to feed it."

Hana pushes a few pouches toward me. "Why of course, dear! A cow! How exciting! I'm excited to sell your products in my shop!" I hand her some money and toss the pouches into my rucksack.

"Thanks, Hana! I'll talk to you later!" I turn and begin to walk out of the store.

"Any time, dear! And you let me know what you find out about that Neil character! He can't be too much of a wet rag if he gave you one of his cows!" I nod my head and exit the store, smiling back at her.

_He did give me one of his cows… Why?_ I question. _I don't even know him, and he doesn't know me. I don't think he even really _wants_ to know me. _I hadn't thought about that yet. I begin walking over to the Plaza, where I heard the loudspeaker announce his shop opening. Curiosity gets the best of me. _I'm going to ask him why he gave me Bessie_, I decide._ I don't care if he's a bit of an ass._


End file.
